How to Make Healthy Foods Last Longer

The perks of healthy, unprocessed foods are too numerous to even list. But there are two main downsides: First, they’re often a little pricey. Second, they’re quick to go bad. To give your trash can and your wallet a break, we dug up the easiest, most effective ways to make your healthy foods last longer.

1. Freeze Your Green Juices

If your juice’s expiration date is bearing down on you, simply pop the bottle into the freezer to buy yourself some time.

2. Keep Wheat Flour in the Fridge

The wheat germ in wheat flour contains high levels of oil, which can go rancid if left at room temp. Instead, stash your flour in an airtight container in your refrigerator. An easy way to tell if it’s turned: Give it a sniff. It should smell like nothing; if you detect something bitter, toss it.

3. Hold Off on Washing Berries

Moisture encourages berries to spoil, so wait to rinse them off until just before you’re ready to chow down. Also smart: checking the berry container periodically and picking out any spoiled fruit. They’ll bring the rest of the pint down with them faster.

4. Stash Herbs in This Gadget

The Herb Savor helps keep the flavorful greens fresh for up to three weeks. Bonus: It can also be used for asparagus.

5. Tuck Root Veggies in Cloth Bags

Heat and light encourage root vegetables like onions or potatoes to sprout. 

6. Paint an Avocado with Lemon Juice 

Cut avocados contain an enzyme that oxidizes when exposed to air, causing it to turn brown. To halt the process, cover the cut flesh with a thin layer of lemon juice, then a sheet of plastic wrap, and stick it in the fridge.

7. Store a Paper Towel with Lettuce

The disposable cloth will absorb any moisture that forms while your greens are chilling in the fridge, keeping the leaves from wilting. The result: Your Friday salad will taste as crisp and fresh as Monday's.

8. Pour Dry Grains into Mason Jars

Grains and dry beans have a low moisture content, so their main concern isn’t necessarily going bad—it’s getting infested with bugs, rodents, and other creepy-crawlies.

Source: shape

How to Burn 100 Calories : A Zumba Workout Video

There are different ways to burn 100 Calories with different workouts. If your goal is to burn the most amount of calories every day, you need to get up and move. Try this Zumba Exercise that will help you to burn 100 calories now....

Best Cardio Workouts After Back Injury

Experiencing a back injury can rob you of mobility and cause pain that makes even the most basic movements difficult. Once you have rehabilitated from your injury, your physician may recommend exercising to maintain or achieve a healthy weight, relieve stress and maintain mobility. Varying your cardiovascular exercises can help you to avoid strain and over-use, which could potentially re-injure the back

 

Warning

Always get your physician’s approval before beginning any exercise program. After a back injury and recovery, your physician can make recommendations for appropriate exercises for your condition

Recumbent Bicycle

A recumbent bicycle places less strain on the back than a traditional upright or stationery bicycle. Adjust the seat to where your feet can pedal comfortably as you use the bicycle. As you improve in function

Walking

Walking is a low-impact exercise that can be performed almost anywhere and is ideal for back patients recovering from injury. Be sure to warm up your muscles for 5 minutes by walking more slowly than usual and stretching your back, arms and legs.

Yoga and Tai Chi

 

Use yoga and and tai chi as a complimentary practice to your cardio workouts. Although some of the more strenuous styles of yoga like Ashtanga may be out of your reach while you're healing from your back injury; the slow measured movements of both yoga and tai chi will strengthen your core muscles that support your back.

Source: livestrong

 

Treadmill Mistakes You Should Avoid

Running on a treadmill is not only about putting one foot in front of the other. With a few tweaks to your form, habits, and plan, you can get so much more out of your indoor running workout. The best place to start? Avoiding these 7 treadmill errors:

1.Skipping the Warm-Up

2. Not Having a Plan

3. Overthinking Your Stride

4. Not Using the Whole Belt

5. Over-Controlling Your Breathing

6. Ignoring the Incline

Source: fitbie

Ways To Boost Your Stamina For Running

It really doesn’t matter whether you are training for a marathon or just want to shed those extra pounds or you want to give some extra TLC to your cardiovascular system. If you want to improve your running stamina, then you should include the following tips in your training:

1. Rest

Yes, it is important to let your body rest, so that you’re tired, sore muscles get time to heal and repair. You can’t run like a free tiger with a tired body. You’ll end up dragging like a lost puppy! So, get your minimum 7 hr sleep every day. And also do not go running every day. Mix it up with other kinds of workouts.

2. Music

Music helps you in getting into the flow and keep moving. We tend to match our steps to the beats. So make your workout playlist and load whatever kind of music that helps in moving your butt. That fills you with energy and gets you grooving. Trust me, you’ll find you ran an extra mile or two.

3. Diet

Taking care of your diet is imperative if you want to improve your running stamina. You need to fuel the machine if you want it to work at its best. Make sure you put good lean proteins and good carbs in your body. You need good food to get your energy.

4. Keep Running

To improve your running stamina, you need to keep running and keep trying. But remember, it is a gradual process. Go by the 10% rule. 

5. Plyometrics

Another thing that must be a part of your training is plyometrics. All athletes train their cardiovascular system to improve their VO2 by incorporating explosive exercises in their workouts. Explosive exercises or plyometrics like burpees, squat jumps, jumping lunges, froggy jumps, etc. not only improve VO2, but also burn lots of calories.

6. Interval Training

Interval training is another technique used by professionals to improve their stamina, endurance and speed. Interval training here involves alternating your running pace and style. 

7. Stretching

Stretching is an almost inseparable part of the workout of the professional athletes. Stretch your muscles with nice dynamic stretching exercises to warm up your body.

8. HIIT

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is important to improve your aerobic capacity. Your workout schedule should consist of at least 3 HIIT sessions every week. HIIT helps you train your heart and lungs better. Your workout should consist of the upper body as well as lower body moves. You can add in strength moves in your hold time in between the high intensity moves.

9.Strength Training

Your legs and core should be strong enough to carry you to a 5k distance. Most people think that running is through and through a cardio. They ignore the fact that strength training plays an important role as a part of any workout. This is quite wrong. Your leg muscles and the strength of your core help you in running better and longer. Strong muscles equal increased power and power leads to speed and stamina.

Source: stylecraze

Cure Anxiety Yoga Poses: Top 8 Yoga Poses to Tackle Anxiety

Anxiety – a precursor to stress! Indeed! Every moment of our life is filled with countless, unexpected moments. Your body, mind and spirit share a very deep and intense relation; the slightest scratch on any one of the elements could leave the other two shattered. Yoga lets you indulge in gentle stretches that allow you to create a harmonious relation among all the three elements, thus keeping anxiety and stress at bay.

Here are few such yoga poses that are easy to practice, and could rescue you from anxiety and panic attacks

1. Sukhasana – Easy Pose

A great hip and spine strengthening pose, it corrects your posture. It amplifies the tranquility and peace, eliminating physical and psychological anxiety and stress completely.

2. Matsyasana – Fish Pose

This is also a kind of inversion that allows better flow of blood to your brain, beating mood disorders and associated anxiety issues.

3. Padahastasana – Standing Forward Bend Pose

Release the tension you experience in your shoulders, neck, and back with this mild forward bend-cum gentle inversion pose. The blood flow to the brain improves, unclogging the otherwise clogged mind.

4. Tadasana – Mountain Pose

This basic pose allows you to create awareness about your body and the way you breathe. Also, your blood circulation gets a surge. An energy boosting asana, it renders the energy levels you need to start a stress-free routine.

5. Adhomukha Svanasana – Downward Facing Dog Pose

This pose comes with a multitude of benefits. Be it for tummy toning or just to wind up from an anxious moment, this pose offers it all.

6. Balasana – Child’s Pose

A completely relaxing pose, it is also a gentle forward bend that allows better flow of blood to the brain. It is a relaxation pose that you can practice in between challenging poses.

7. Paschimottanasana – Seated Forward Bend

Unwind your distracted mind with this basic, yet tough yoga pose. Along with de-stressing, it also gives your back a good stretch while massaging your abs. It improves digestion, eases PMS, and strengthens the kidneys, uterus, and ovaries.

8. Sethubhandasana – Bridge Pose

Relax and unwind your back and chest while de-stressing your brain with this simple yoga pose.

Source - stylecraze

6 Best Workouts During Pregnancy

Happy pregnancy to you! You might have already heard, but now is not the time to be trying new things in the fitness realm. Any workouts and exercise routines you were already committed to before that awesome positive test – most doctors will recommend you continue it. Eventually, you’ll drop the intensity and frequency, limit the weight and range of motion, all based on your body’s cues and your comfort level. Even if you weren’t working out before this pregnancy, there are still safe exercises you can do for a healthy three trimesters.

Swimming

This workout will help strengthen the spinal muscles to improve posture that’s often compromised during pregnancy. Even though you’re in water, it’s important to stay hydrated.

Flexibility and stretch

If this is your first baby, you’re very likely to experience round ligament pain. This is your body’s first go-round to pregnancy changes and the ever-stretching tissues never get a chance to relax. Once you reach the third trimester, stretching should be a daily habit.

Prenatal yoga

A customized workout for your evolving body and growing baby, prenatal yoga helps stretch, warm and increase flexibility within the muscles.Yoga with assisted stretch also helps alleviate lower back pain while promoting better sleep

Zumba/Dancing

A British study showed a short term mood-boosting effect in the dancers following class. Dancing also helps with balance and coordination.

Weight Training

If you’re already weight training, great. You should be able to continue under the supervision of a trained instructor or coach and approval of your doc.

Walking

Easy and so beneficial for pregnant women. Walking helps pump the blood up out of the legs to avoid clotting and swelling. It works your heart just enough to reap the benefits of cardio exercise.

Original Source - skinnymom